ESX 5.0 U1 hung on "Initilizing ACPI"

[Croydon]

I have a whitebox I'm trying to install ESXi 5.0 U1 on that is getting hung on Initilizing ACPI. Is there a way to bypass this stage? Maybe with kernel options? I have tried acpi=off and noacpi options with no success.

I'm using a Shuttle SZ77R5 with a Intel 3770 IvyBridge processor. I have a similar setup on a SZ68R5 with a SandyBridge that works great.

Any feedback/help would be really appreciated.

Cheers,

Croydon

[seetee]

So, I'm confused as well.  You say that the installer will not boot except when you enable UEFI.  So, what is the problem with this?  This is the case for the other motherboards in this thread.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, you need to enable UEFI, otherwise the VMWare ESXi installer will hang "initialising ACPI".  All the other settings in the BIOS you can return to default - USB3 etc - they should have no bearing on your ability to install ESXi 5 U1.

Why don't you install VMWare ESXi 5.0 U1 from CD (you mentioned earlier that you needed to get a CD.....but then you mentioned below that you had tried to install from CD....so I assume that you now have a CD) and install it to a blank usb stick for your testing.  It should work.  Then when you login to ESXi with the vSphere client, you can add your hdd as datastore.

[MarBen]

Yep, now I'm back being confused again

I thought that only the installer works if he enables UEFI---but after installing ESXi booting fails in any case, right?!

[RobBastiaansen_]

Hi all,

Just want to add that I was able to install ESXi 5U1 on a machine with the DQ77MK motherboard after updating the BIOS to version 0049.

That fixed my problem with the initializing ACPI hang during install

Greetings,

Rob

[Osaili]

Hi,

Sorry for confusing you...

I tried to launch the installer from a CD Drive but the same issue exist. the installer never pass through "Initializing ACPI"

I contacted VMware support, and obviuosly they said it is not in the HCL.

Shuttle Service Center took few days to reply to me with a modified BIOS. After flashing that, I have found an important addition, VT-d option was added and configurable. It seems it was disabled by default and hidden. I don't know if there are other changes are hidden as well.

Anyway, The installer went very smooth. The Disk drive (AHCI), NIC and all other device are recognized out of the box. 

I asked them Service center if it is Ok to re-distribute the firmware. I'm just waiting for the reply.

[MarBen]

Hi Osaili,

well, this is fantastic news! Thank you very much for your effort!

I'm gonna order the Shuttle next week. Maybe you can send me (as a PM) the contact at Shuttle so that I could ask them for the updated bios?

Thanks again!

Cheers

[seetee]

Hi Osaili,

Thanks for the update.  I'd forgotten that the BIOS had made a differerence with the Intel DQ77MK....and when Intel updated to 48 or 49....it also resolved the issue.

Quite impressed with the Shuttle SZ77R5 - makes for a very compact dev/lab with 4 slots so that you can have 32Gb Memory.  Good to know that you proofed a solution for this board and that it functions.....it would be my pick as a Dev environment.

[ch3lmi]

Hi Osaili,

did you ever get an answer back from shuttle support if you can redistribute the BIOS they provided ?

I am facing the same issue so help would be very appreciated.

The latest BIOS found on shuttle download page is from July 10th 2012.

Thank you !

[Osaili]

Hi,

You can download the Firmware update from here:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwTATElc2FWBQXF0SnBHRlBZNms

For those who don't know how to flash from DOS:

1. Download a tool to make your usb bootable to DOS. Such as  " Bootable_USB_Drive_Creator"

2. After you configure your USB, Load the files: Flash.bat, AFUDOS.exe and VMWare.ROM to your usb drive.

3. Reboot your Shuttle PC and boot from the usb.

4. Type in the command prompt: C:\Flash.bat

5. The process will take around 1 minute, then it will reboot.

6. Once it reboots it will ask you to press F1 to continue.

Good Luck...

Regards,

Ahmed 

[ch3lmi]

wow, thank you so much I downloaded the files, will test them as soon as possible.

Did you by any chance also get the W64 files or only the DOS files ?

[Osaili]

I only got the DOS Files. I thought it doesn't make sense to get Win x86/64 since you will start from bare metal.

[ch3lmi]

sure, it's just that I had installed Windows 8 64 bit in the meantime to play around so I had the 64 OS at hand.

Anyhow created a DOS USB stick with you files, updated the BIOS and the ESXi installation worked.

Thanks a lot for you help !

By the way I also contacted Shuttle in parallel to see if I could get the files first hand thinking that it may also encourage them to officially publish the BIOS update on their website, but they haven't got back to me as of yet.

[MarBen]

I ordered the SZ77R5 yesterday (4x8 GB RAM (Corsair), 2x3 TB HDD (Seagate), Intel Core i7 3770) and hope that the components really work with each other (including ESXi, of course ).

Won't get the unit before early September, though, since the RAM is currently out of stock at my dealer ...

I'll let you know how this setup works for me; because of Osaili, at least ESXi should install and run smoothly now.

Cheers

[jbja]

Hi MarBen,

I am looking forward to heard from you about the configuration and how well Esxi will run under this little box.

Cheers

jbja

[jerky79]

Thanks a million for taking the time to post your solution for this issue (specifically with the SZ77R5) I just bought one, without doing and research beforehand (I'll take the blame for that), along with an i7 2600 processor and 32GB of DDR3 1600 RAM. I quickly started freaking out when the install hung and found that others had no recourse other than to return their unit in exchange for another model.

After digging around a little more I found this post I downloaded the modified BIOS update then flashed my system and had ESXi 5 U1 up and running in no time.

I can validate that this fix worked like a charm for me and that if anyone is running into the same issue with this model that this fix should do the trick.

Note: I have 2 256GB SSD's as my VM datastores and this thing screams, I have 9 VM's up in a lab environment and they are all extremely responsive, I'll be adding more VM's shortly and anticipate that this unit has plenty of horsepower/capacity for running at least 15 concurrent VM's (all under minor workload as it is just a lab environment).

Thanks again!!!

Mike J

[seetee]

Just an FYI about the Intel DQ77 Motherboard Series...

Intel released BIOS 0043 on the 30th August for the DQ77KB which has a fix: "Fixed issue with UEFI Linux installation". Up until now, motherboards like the DQ77KB and the DQ77MK got stuck on initialising ACPI as well as needing to be set to UEFI boot with ESXi 5.0 U1. Have tested with the DQ77MK and this issue has been fixed with the BIOS update (0050 for the DQ77MK), so that you can an install and run an ESXi 5.0 U1 system without needing to set the BIOS boot options to UEFI boot.

[Taeyang]

Hi MSKOV,

I am also using DH77EB...

Here's the work around that we have performed.

STEP 1. Install Windows 7. No Need to updated.

STEP 2. From a different Computer, Download EBH7710H.86A.0089.EB.EXE (latest bios for DH77EB Motherboard)

STEP 3. Copy and Install EBH7710H.86A.0089.EB.EXE on the Windows 7 Machine. (This will require a reboot).
STEP 4. Notice that the bios configuration page will now be changed.

STEP 5. Boot the ESX 5.0 Installer and proceed with the installation. Just Overwite the existing files when prompted.

Hope this helps!

CarlV

VTSP 4/5, MCP, MCTS

[HobbyStudent]

Can confirm DH77EB with new BIOS (0089) is booting normal, without hanging on ACPI. (previous version 0075 did hang)

my setup: ESXi 5.1 (customized for DH77EB) on USB, in BIOS "Legacy Boot" = Disabled

[WasteOfSpace]

Thanks!

Newest bios update from 11/2012 dosnt work, but your files do

so thanks again for sharing

[seetee]

Thanks for the update WOS.

Shuttle were really good in terms of releasing a special BIOS for this issue - thanks to Osaili.

I've been using a Shuttle SZ77R5 with ESXi 5.1 (with the special Shuttle 1.10 BIOS for ESXi) for the past month or so, and have concluded that this is probably the best "lab" for a number of reasons.

Although it has only one onboard NIC, it has two PCI-e slots.  I'm using one for a 2nd NIC and the second slot can be used for a RAID Card so that you could put in a second hdd and have RAID1 redundancy.  I'm booting ESXi from a USB stick inside the case, so there is nothing on the outside of the case other than the power cord. The chassis is aluminium and lightweight to carry and it uses a normal internal power supply.  It is very quiet and and shutdown time is less than 1 minute.  I use a TP-Link MR3020 USB Powered Wireless N Router that connects to the ESXi Management NIC and allows me to browse wirelessly to the ESXi from my PC.  It has a USB Dongle 3G card for Internet Access.  Shuttle also have a range of soft carry bags for their boxes......so the ESXi "Lab" solution looks very professional.....when you are working on-site.

I've also have an ESXi Lab based on the Intel DQ77KB ("Intel Kearnans Bend") and although this can't be beaten for size and weight, it has limitations.  I have it in an itxcase (19cm x 19cm x 6cm).  The board can only take an i73770s processor and the existing intel heatsink is too high for most itx chassis'.  For the DQ77KB you have to specify UEFI boot at the current BIOS unlike the Intel DQ77MK or Shuttle SZ77R5.  The second onboard intel nic on the board (Intel AMT) is not compliant with ESXi.....so you need the workaround specified above for this.  My build has 16Gb Memory (which is the ceiling (and a limiter) for this motherboard.  I'm also booting ESXi 5.1 from a 4gb mini usb stick which i've attached to an internal usb header so there is nothing to "catch" on the outside of the case.  The case i have is DC powered (it has a "notebook" type power supply - almost the same size as the case).  If weight is important and 16Gb memory isn't a limitation and you don't need RAID....then this is probably the best "mobile" lab environment for ESXi.

[MarBen]

Hi seetee,

thank you very much for the update!

I, too, am very pleased with my Shuttle; but there is one thing which prevents me from calling it a "perfect" unit and that is passthrough of a video card. This is something that obviously works for several people with a similar setup (in terms of chipset and radeon card, see "http://communities.vmware.com/message/2163357#2163357"), but I think nobody ever tried/succeeded video passtrough in combination with a SZ77R5.

Did anyone of you ever try this? The setup "ESXi on a Shuttle including direct access to one of the VMs" would be a killer!!

Cheers